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We are BACK! The latest episode of ALL WINGS CONSIDERED is live now! All Wings Considered is the CIC's first ever streaming variety show which features news, conversation and gameplay relating to our favorite series. This week's Nav Points include:

• Wing Commander III - Loki System - 3DO Version
• Righteous Fire - Sandra Goodin
• A Never-Before-Seen Italian Wing Commander book!

Missed the stream? The replay will be available below once it has been processed by YouTube. You can subscribe to the AWC channel for future notifications here.

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*Pilots Federation ALERT*
Sirius Corporation has received more data than Utopia and will therefore host the Galactic Summit.
Both organisations proposed to organise a diplomatic conference for the Alliance, Empire and Federation. After calling on the galactic community to gather data that would support security operations, many pilots handed in anomalous bulk scan data, atypical disrupted wake echoes, exceptional scrambled emission data and unusual encrypted files.
All three superpower governments confirmed that due to its success in preparing effective security systems, they will accept Sirius Corporation as the neutral territory for the conference.
CEO Li Yong-Rui made this announcement:
"Thank you to all the independent pilots who supported us. Sirius will now begin work preparing for the first Galactic Summit, which we hope will increase peace and prosperity across the galaxy."
Pilots who

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We recently talked about the Prophecy Demo and how it adds several additional missions to the game's official plot. Today I wanted to briefly plug Prophecy's training simulator and the ten missions included there. Over the years we've heard from a number of folks who just never did any of the bar simulators after exploding in the Tiger's Claw original TrainSim. Some people see these missions as just a remedial tutorial for new players, but there are also some interesting gauntlets with their own high score boards. They can even include little bits of lore. Most WC games don't have the luxury of shipboard simulators, so when you're playing through one that does (Wing Commander 3 is another good example), don't pass them up! Here's a video of Ben Horne playing level 7, a rousing carrier defense.

Level 7: Carrier Defense

Author: Colonel Jacob 'Hawk' Manly (typo!)

Overview: Protect the Midway against a

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Surprise! Most diehard Wingnuts know the movie takes place from March 15 to 17, but the novelization has an epilogue that happens the next day. It's a dark scene that takes place on Mylon III. This sets the stage for the events that unfold in Wing Commander Pilgrim Stars and are concluded in Pilgrim Truth. There's some wild stuff in those novels!

Day 4 - 1900 Mylon Time - BREAKING NEWS: The supercruiser TCS Olympus has fired on Confederation forces in the Mylon System?! MORE

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Deliveries to the Reorte Mining Coalition or the Reorte Pro-Alliance League will help determine the system's status.
The system's controlling faction wishes to declare independence, in protest against Sirius Corporation's proposed anti-xeno defence pact with the Alliance Defence Force.
The Reorte Mining Coalition's CEO Fergus Cassidy announced:
"Prime Minister Mahon's insistence on working with Sirius leads us to believe our interests are best served outside of the Alliance. To prepare for Reorte's potential transition to an independent system, we ask for shipments of advanced medicines, skimmer components and building fabricators to be delivered to Davies High starport."
It is expected that if Reorte Mining Coalition is successful, all systems currently under its governance would similarly be classified as independent.
Another faction in the system, the Reorte

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Two new starports have been added to Marlinist systems, following a successful delivery initiative last month.
The use of pre-built infrastructures and mass-produced components has allowed the orbital stations to be assembled rapidly. The starport names and locations are Fairfax Legacy in the Hyades Sector SU-C a14-1 system, and Ackwada Monument in the Hyades Sector LX-T c3-30 system.
The Marlinist Parliament welcomed the new starports, stating that they "will lay strong foundations for increased commerce with the interstellar community".
As a result of a recent diplomatic arrangement, two million Marlinist refugees have been offered transport from the Alliance to the colony systems. They are being processed and granted citizenship at the new starports.
A campaign to rename the two existing starports, Stillman Hub and Tilman Point, was discouraged by Sirius Corporation. These stations were

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Today we've got a pair of fabulous 3D printed bombers to show off. They're the latest creations by Adm_Maverick. These are some of the biggest pilotable craft out there, and at nearly a foot long, they've been built to an appropriately hefty scale. This allows for some of the detailed elements like turrets to really stand out. Mav has some quirks that they'd ideally like to correct, but I think the results are already pretty fantastic. Bravo!

Printed up, and assembled the parts for a Longbow heavy bomber. There is something I really like about of the Longbow. Sadly the printing process was somewhat uneven resulting in some warping and deformations. I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do about it. I could make new parts, reprint the original parts with different settings, or maybe create new files to be printed. On a side note, I need to do some number crunching but I think this might actually be

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Bear with me here, this is one I did not expect. Here's a picture of former President Trump and his wife with his ambassador to the United Kingdom, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and his wife Suzanne...

... the press tells me that Mrs. Johnson is close friends with former First Lady Melania Trump. She's done a lot to use her position to support Ukraine this past year which is pretty neat...

... but in 1995 her maiden name was Suzanne Ircha... and she was an actress... who played Confed Redshirt #4 in Wing Commander IV! She's one of the young pilots in awe of Colonel Blair when he arrives on the Lexington! (Along with the always noticeable Casper Van Dien.)

She also had a similarly brief cameo in an episode of Star Trek Deep Space 9.

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The Wing Commander Movie turns twenty-four today! As crazy as that sounds, it also means we're just a year away from it being a quarter century old. The film may be getting up there in age, but there's still plenty to learn about it. Check out the list below for some of our recent analyses and stories from just the last year!

• A Visual Guide to Uniforms
• Star Wars Actor Crossover
• Counting Ships of the Fleet
• On Declaration of War
• Vintage TV Spots
• The Diligent in Space Engineers
• Odd Connections
• Flight Suit for Sale
• Supertitle Megapost
• Tweeting in Real Time
  • Day Zero
  • Day One
  • Day Two
  • Day Three
  • Epilogue

For a nice visual pop, here's an upgraded trailer that AD put together as well as a gorgeous Rapier wallpaper by Klavs:

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Aegis has published a personal statement from Seo Jin-ae, who claims to have evidence that Salvation planned to escape death in the HIP 22460 system.
"First of all, yes, Caleb Wycherley died when the Thargoids attacked the Bright Sentinel in HIP 22460. But, I believe, only physically. He was developing technology to automatically relocate his mind, an emergency protocol he named the Nemesis Failsafe."
"I know how implausible that sounds, but the files I recovered from an Azimuth Biotech archive prove his intentions. For several years, Salvation ran a private project to reverse-engineer a Guardian artefact which could store consciousness. The design showed neural interactions as digital impulses, and made reference to exactly retaining his identity and memories."
"Salvation had already extended his life to over 250 years, and was obsessed with staying alive until he could wipe out the

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

Independent presidential candidate Zachary Rackham held a gala ball for some of the Federation's wealthy and influential elite.
The Federal Times published a report from political correspondent Sofia Trevino:
"The extravagant gathering at Fort Rackham (formerly Fort Falkenrath) on Taylor Colony felt more like a party than a fundraiser, but its ambitions were clear. Campaign finance laws forbid Zachary Rackham from using his own wealth to pay for his presidential bid, and so connections are being forged to entice donations and other types of support."
"Mr Rackham's campaign manager – and the originator of his 'Just Like Me' slogan – was revealed to be celebrity PR consultant Anya Blackriver. She organised many famous attendees including media barons Elias Metaxas and Neive McFarlane, the youthful but popular ICE-caster Sura Oyekan, and flamboyant business magnate 'Sir' Randolph Plaskett of

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The Digital Antiquarian has completed his long-awaited analysis of Wing Commander 4. He started digging into the series way back in 2017 and covered the first couple of games in a series of articles. His WC3 review dropped in 2021 and now he's dug into WC4. It's a long article that's far more thorough than most overviews in print, although it doubles down quite a bit on the somewhat overplayed criticism than too much money went into the film shoots compared to the spaceflight engine. I would argue that there was little more to iterate gameplay-wise given the very short production time. WC4 was slated to arrive just one year following WC3 - right after Origin had spent a considerable amount of time (starting with Strike Commander and then forking into Armada) making the leap into proper 3D. Until the arrival of 3D accelerator hardware later in the '90s, there just wasn't much more they were going

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
A mining campaign organised by Kokoller Limited has drawn to a close, with the organisers declaring it a success.
The Federal corporation requested deliveries of bertrandite, coltan and praseodymium to supply the Kokoller system's refinery base, ostensibly to manufacture supplies for the Federal Navy's anti-xeno war efforts.
Spokesperson Paul Dyson provided a message to participants:
"It is genuinely a pleasure to see so many pilots respond to our call for raw materials. Harvesting those asteroid belts is no easy task, but the performance has been remarkable. I can promise all those involved in the campaign that the profits raised from refining and distributing these resources will go to a very worthy cause. Those credits are in good hands."
Kokoller Limited has confirmed that all contributors to the campaign can now collect their rewards from Utley Hub in the

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*Pilots' Federation ALERT*
Wreckage from a past conflict between the Guardian and Thargoid races has been found in the Wregoe BU-Y b2-0 system.
The crashed remains of Thargoid vessels, alongside structures of Guardian origin, are located on Wregoe BU-Y b2-0 1 c. Conflict between the two species occurred millions of years ago, but physical evidence of this is extremely rare. The only comparable site, in the Trapezium Sector YU-X c1-2 system, was initially found two centuries ago by the Azimuth Biochemicals ship Proteus and rediscovered in 3307.
Wregoe BU-Y b2-0 was one of several systems under investigation following a report by Commander Renia Rakowski, who encountered a Thargoid interceptor in nearby Wregoe GA-X B3-0.
The Holloway Bioscience Institute has sent teams into the area to explore the possibility of xenoarchaeological research. Dr Jeong-Hui Shin gave a statement to The Sovereign

Quote from Elite Dangerous Galnet News-Bot

The Federal Times has hired the Wallglass Investigations Agency to prove that presidential candidate Zachary Rackham was once a pirate lord.
Financial journalist Bryanna Blanco has long claimed that the business magnate obtained his initial fortune via piracy. Wallglass, an independent firm that is much respected in the intelligence community, is seeking evidence to validate this accusation.
Harlan Turk, Rackham's running mate in the election, has lobbied for Congress to halt the investigation. He asserted: "The Federal Times is breaching the impartiality rules of journalism, and violating the security measures afforded to all presidential candidates."
Political ICE-caster Sura Oyekan also voiced her objections: "This is an outrageous attack on the reputation of a respected public figure, a great man who has contributed so much to Federal commerce and culture."
There was a more speculative

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We're a sucker for a good physical Wing Commander model, and Conrad Teves recently made a slick one! He printed this Arrow light fighter a few weeks ago, which happened to be just in time for Wing Commander Armada's 29th birthday. A lot of people closely associate this ship with Wing Commander 3, but it appeared in Armada first. Arrows even take up a pretty big chunk of the box cover!

Made a 3d print of the Arrow. Here it is fresh off the printer.

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Today we have a truly incredible find! VGDensetsu shared this piece of art by Greg Winters. It's the source sketch for what eventually became the phenomenal box art for Wing Commander: The Secret Missions on the Super Nintendo. We absolutely love finding stuff like this under any circumstances, but there are some extra quirky elements here. One, it reveals that the first cut of the drawing depicts a more typical brown Salthi. In the final piece, the ship is tinted green, which is an excellent nod to the fact that the SNES version of the game replaces its Jalthi art with a green Salthi model. That's such a cool info bit. And two, this sketch is on the opposite side of a piece of paper with the SNES Wizard of Oz game. Wild! The original piece is up for auction throughout this month.

Greg Winters The Wizard of Oz & Wing Commander: The Secret Missions SNES Original Preliminary Box Art (Seta,

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Here are storyboards for an establishing shot in Wing Commander IV that would've had Colonel Blair arrive at the Nephele bar on a speeder bike.

"I bet they didn't want it to look TOO much like Star Wars!"... the final version of the bar exterior would beg to differ.

The establishing shot ended up not being necessary because they dropped a previous scene where we see Blair as a sad drunk haunted by the war. So instead they match cut from the Senate scene to a news broadcast in the bar and pan over to Hamill entering, which is a neat trick! (I'm VERY curious what the backlit poster to the right is; sadly, not much set photography has survived!)

Here are boards for the dropped scene. You would've gotten a brief 'dear John' video from the lady you chose in Wing Commander III. This was on the schedule up through when the shoot started, so it must've been dropped very late!

I always wondered if they had

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Dave's garage has hosted an interview with Raymond Chen, one of the developers of Windows 95. He has a fun anecdote about Microsoft's mission to minimize compatibility issues with the operating system. When testing Wing Commander 3, they detected an error that would occur when pressing Control+C to cloak at the end of the game. The conflicting behavior highlighted some broken logic around accepting keystrokes, which spurred them to change how Copy/Paste was interpreted behind the scenes. It's a cool story! I'm not sure who managed to stumble across this scenario: WC3 DOS didn't really run in Windows - it was a classic "Reboot in MS-DOS Mode" game, but this could have come in handy by the time The Kilrathi Saga came around!

Microsoft developers once drove a truck to Egghead in order to buy ONE of EVERYTHING! Dave interviews Raymond Chen, Win95 developer, about the time they took a truck to EggHead

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January continues to afterburner along - as does our annual Fan Project of the Year contest voting period! If you missed it last week, there's still time to get your vote in. Check out the nominees below and cast your ballot towards the project you were most impressed by in 2023!

• First up, in alphabetical order, are the series of Ambiance videos by Scribbler. This isn't the flashiest project, and that's by design! He's taken it upon himself to craft a variety of scenes inspired by the first three Wing Commander games, set them to calming music and add the hum of daily life aboard a Terran Confederation carrier. I really appreciate when fans do something different like this!
• The Confederation project is an all new mod that hit the scene in 2023. AllTinker is working to reverse engineer aspects of the original Wing Commander and build in numerous enhancements, such as making them support modern